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Lauren Edgeworth was 15 when a school closed due to Covid-19 and the isolation disrupted her school, friends and volleyball activities.
Loneliness soon set in. But she quickly learned not to underestimate the power of going for a walk.
“I was so used to playing volleyball three times a day for more than half of my life, so when we closed, I stopped being active,” she said. “Personally, I always have to be alert. And that’s what I can do if I feel overwhelmed or stressed.”
Now she’s 17, starting her senior year at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas and bracing herself for the stressful year ahead.
For the past two years, Edwards has been a member and co-chair of the Nevada Juvenile Committee for Hope, a group that promotes mental health resources and awareness for teenagers, as well as connecting teenagers across the state and providing a peer-to-peer support network.
The Teens Committee started with Edgeworth, her older sister and a few friends, and she says it now reaches more than 200 teens across the state. It is the committee. High school students are invited to join. And be part of the committee to represent their school. The group’s goal is to continue to expand and create a presence in every high school, helping the organization understand each school’s culture and tailor its resources.
“Once someone opens up, I think everyone starts to realize, ‘Oh, I’m not the only one with the thoughts,'” Edworth said. “There’s been such a big stigma around mental health conversations, and for so many years … our main thing has been to open ourselves up for other people to talk about their stories as well.”
Hope Means Nevada was launched in April 2020 as a community-based initiative in partnership with Nevada Medical Center and advertising agency R&R Partners with the goal of becoming a resource center where people can find mental health providers.
As the organization’s launch came as Covid-19 took over people’s lives, Hope Mins Nevada co-chair Mary Ann Mele called it “divine intervention.” Mele’s Hope for Hope Nevada was inspired by her own experience with her children’s mental health and family history of suicide.
“Directly reaching teenagers was our focus,” Mele said of the creation of Hope Nevada. “And this amazing team that Lauren and her sister put together is our most powerful tool, because it’s no secret that kids listen to each other first.”
Matthew Yee, a member of the junior committee, said he is already looking forward to his friends at Coronado High School, which is overwhelmed by the pressures of senior year on family and relationship issues.
“Senior year, it’s college application season … I know a lot of my friends are nervous about doing this,” he said. “I saw that I could be part of the community and kind of help in some way.”
Last year, the committee pressured the legislature to approve it SB249It would allow up to three mental health days per school year for Nevada students and mandate that a suicide hotline number be printed on all student ID cards. It is suicide. The leading cause of death for children aged 12 to 19 years In the state, the Nevada Coalition for Suicide Prevention.
“And just like you would take a sick day, you can now take time off for your mental health,” Edwards said. “Going back to school was a very stressful transition… we started practicing online classes, so I went in person and noticed that many of my friends were stressed and we had no way of coping. Take physical breaks during the school day.
1 in 3 teenagers consider suicide.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 1 out of 3 young people Consider suicide in 2020. In Clark County, the The rate of student suicide increases The Covid-19 pandemic has created a sense of urgency among school district officials. To reopen schools and raise awareness of available resources.
“Covid-19 has really challenged many of us… Every age group has faced many challenges and difficulties in these two years,” said Yvette Aldaba, a professor at UNLV’s School of Social Work. “And it really made us reassess what we do, how we handle it, and I think about the importance of adaptation.”
Nevada has been among the worst states in recent times. Report By Annie E. Casey Foundation, for overall child well-being, economic well-being, education, and family and community.
Aldaba says that young people struggle with mental health because of relationships with friends and peers. In the year With schools closing in 2020, many students have lost their only social amenities, she said.
“I think with COVID-19, with Covid-19, we’ve definitely seen a shift – kids and teenagers are spending more time at home, they don’t have that social outlet, whether it’s stress or anxiety.
Or depression,” Aldaba said. “The lack of social contact and not being able to connect with their peers has affected them.”
Edgeworth missed having face-to-face conversations and discussions in class while studying online, and it was frustrating to see her classmates on the screen with their cameras off.
In the first half of 2021, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 1 in 5 Hispanic high school students Suicide was seriously considered, and nearly half reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
“Mental health continues to be a stigma in the Latino community,” Aldaba said. “If parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles don’t talk about it or don’t address mental health – we internalize our feelings by saying, ‘You’re crazy’ or ‘We don’t talk about that.’ The feelings, the thoughts – then that goes on for younger generations.
And while social media allows teenagers to connect and communicate with each other, it has become a double-edged sword by perpetuating bullying, promoting body image and self-esteem issues by portraying unrealistic images and easily accessible platforms that combine social and social and social interactions, eliminating safe spaces. Domestic life, Aldaba said.
“But the bullying that we’ve seen because of the Internet and because more young people have access to the Internet and these different websites, the bullying continues online,” she said. “Peers were sending messages, sharing videos. Even at home, where many young people see their home as a safe place, that bullying continues.
Talks continue.
As the conversation around mental health continues, especially among young people, the stigma is beginning to break down — “listen to it for shame,” Mele said.
Aldaba advises parents to pay attention to what their children are doing and initiate conversations about mental health, stress and emotions.
“New classes, new teachers, new students coming in – it’s a transition. They are going to feel stressed by that transition,” Aldaba said. “So talk about what the stress feels like, and then let’s talk about what you can do to deal with it.
Resources are becoming more accessible to help. In the middle of July Nevada joined the rest of the country. By accepting the simplified 988 number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. When people are experiencing a mental health crisis, they can call and text and connect with a trained counselor who can provide support and resources.
Just this week, Hope Means Nevada and Silversummit HealthPlan, a Medicaid managed care organization, launched a $1.5 million campaign to spread the word about free resources available to teens and young adults. of Nevada suicide campaign It includes Advertisements In English and Spanish, targeted at youth and parents, on TV, newspapers, radio, social media and billboards, which will run until the end of October. The donation is also a financial support Non-emergency helpline 988 crisis support can be reached by phone or text to add a lifeline.
As part of the campaign Summit Behavioral Health Services He is also offering free mental health care and case management support at his clinic so that youth without membership or insurance can seek services at physical locations in Reno and Las Vegas.
Gov. Steve Sisolak announced during a campaign press conference that the Legislature will provide nearly $50 million in funding for youth mental health services, including counseling and telephone and in-person support.
Edgeworth leaned on her friends when she needed them most, and now she remembers that her peers are not alone.
“There’s always someone who loves you, someone you can find,” Edworth said. And what I’ve learned in these two years is that I don’t have to do everything on my own.
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